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"Aokiji, are you here to stop me?"
Kizaru's gaze on Aokiji became uncharacteristically serious. If Aokiji was determined to stop him, a fight was inevitable.
This time, Kizaru was not only following orders—he also wanted to deal with Zephyr himself.
Aokiji didn't say a word, but by positioning himself between Kizaru and Zephyr, he made his stance perfectly clear.
Kizaru's eyes narrowed. It seemed a battle with Aokiji was unavoidable.
"
Kizaru wasn't one for formalities. Without warning or concern for a sneak attack, he launched a kick straight at Aokiji.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Aokiji, already anticipating the move, conjured a wall of ice mid-air, blocking Kizaru's kick. He looked at Kizaru with a calm expression.
"Zephyr was your teacher, too. You don't want to carry the weight of killing your own mentor," Aokiji advised, his tone laced with a hint of goodwill.
If Kizaru really killed his own teacher, Zephyr, his reputation would be ruined, regardless of the reason.
Of course, Kizaru couldn't care less about his reputation.
"Aokiji, get out of the way. Otherwise, you'll be an enemy of the Marines. Don't forget, you're not a Marine anymore."
Kizaru told Aokiji to step aside. They were once colleagues, and while not the best of friends, their relationship had been decent enough.
Kizaru didn't want a life-or-death struggle with Aokiji right now. There was another reason—Aokiji was a tough opponent. By the time he dealt with him, Zephyr would have already escaped. Then he'd fail his mission and get a pay cut.
His salary was already tight. If they docked it any further, he might as well just become a pirate.
Aokiji still didn't move. He also wanted to stop Zephyr's extreme plan. He just couldn't bring himself to kill him. Now, seeing Kizaru ready to do just that, he couldn't help but intervene. He knew he shouldn't have gotten involved, but in the end, he couldn't hold back.
"Aokiji, you don't want to see Zephyr destroy the entire New World, do you?"
"No, I don't. But can't we give him a chance? We could just defeat him and lock him in Impel Down."
Aokiji glanced at Zephyr and sighed. For a former Marine Admiral to be killed by the hands of the Marines... it was too cruel.
"The order from above is to eliminate Zephyr. I'm just following orders. If you insist on stopping me, then you are an enemy of the Marines."
The aura around Kizaru grew sharper.
"Then I'm sorry." Aokiji formed a saber of ice in his hand and charged toward Kizaru, slashing at him.
CLANG!
The clash of ice and light sounded like steel on steel. The ice saber met Kizaru's Ama no Murakumo, and their struggle for dominance ended in a stalemate.
Kizaru was older than Aokiji. While not necessarily stronger, his experience was far greater.
Seeing the edge of his coat sliced open, Aokiji's eyes narrowed. An extreme cold enveloped the area, so intense that even Kizaru could feel the biting chill. It felt as if his blood was about to freeze, and Kizaru's brow furrowed. The temperature was affecting his body, slowing him down.
Zephyr watched Aokiji and Kizaru fight, his expression complicated. Should he take the opportunity to escape with his men, or stay and help Kizaru? The two choices warred in his mind, and Zephyr didn't know which to choose.
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"Perfect timing. Just when things were getting interesting."
At that moment, Shin finally arrived. He watched Kizaru and Aokiji with some surprise. He didn't know what was going on. Why were they fighting? Could it be that Aokiji was stopping Kizaru from attacking Zephyr?
He hadn't interfered in the original story, so why now??
Perhaps it was due to the changes in the plot. After all, the current story had completely diverged, and no one knew where it was heading.
"What should we do?"
Robin asked Shin.
"What else? We watch the show. Are we supposed to help one of them defeat the other?"
Shin said with a grin, settling in to enjoy the spectacle.
Aokiji appearing and fighting Kizaru was something Shin hadn't expected. It wasn't that he was surprised by Aokiji's appearance, but that he was surprised they were actually fighting.
"Who do you think will win, Aokiji or Kizaru?" Shin asked Hancock and the others, sipping his wine.
"They're both trash, but even I can't tell who would win," Hancock said.
"That's a pretty bold thing to say, Hancock," Shin couldn't help but comment.
Calling Aokiji and Kizaru trash was definitely arrogant. After all, they were both Admirals, among the most powerful and respected figures in the world.
"Is it? Compared to you, they 'are' trash," Hancock said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Well, you're not wrong about that," Shin nodded.
"Is that you blowing your own horn? You're not even a little embarrassed," Nami said, rolling her eyes.
Shin shot a glance at Nami. He felt this little cat burglar was targeting him. Had he done something to offend her? It must have been the training. He couldn't help but sigh.
He had been kind enough to train her and improve her strength, and she was still mad at him. No good deed goes unpunished.
If Nami knew what Shin was thinking, she would have pounced on him and tried to kill him.
His training was practically trying to kill her. It was a miracle anyone could survive it. Of course she was mad. Not only was she mad, she wanted to beat him up.
Of course, Nami also knew her meager strength was no match for Shin, so she kept her mouth shut. A little complaint was enough. If she kept it up, she might get a beating. This was something Nami had learned on her own, so she stayed quiet, a picture of obedience.
Shin just glanced at Nami, then turned his attention back to Aokiji and Kizaru. Their fight seemed to have escalated. They were holding back before, but now they were unleashing lethal attacks.
Aokiji and Kizaru wouldn't be able to settle this quickly. Aokiji's fight with Akainu had lasted ten days and ten nights. This would be no different.
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